Review

John Legend & The Roots: Wake Up! (G.O.O.D. Music/Columbia)

Take one finest singers of this century and put them alongside the most innovative and exciting hip-hop band of all time, and the album ‘Wake Up!’ is the end result of one of the most interesting musical projects in recent time.

Made up nearly entirely of covers from the '60s and '70s, this is an album with a message for its listeners. Going against the grain of so much of the music out there now, this is one of the albums that forces you to stop, take time and listen to the music.

John Legend steps away from his usual soulful crooning to songs of love and relationships to sing about some of the issues facing us in today’s world, such as of war, economic instability, political frustration, falling standards in education and more. Now you may be thinking that sounds quite depressing, but what will make you even more depressed is remembering that these songs were written and released so many years ago and yet they are still so relevant. The Roots never fail to disappoint with their raw energy and grit on tracks like their cover of ‘Hard Times’ by Baby Huey and the Babysitters. The live instrumentation jumps out of the speakers; the sharp horns or the dark funk telling its own story alongside the lyric. ‘Wake up Everybody’ originally a hit by Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes pairs John Legend with Melanie Fiona and Common, giving it a 21st century makeover. Common’s rap is thought provoking, whilst Fiona’s vocals lends an almost maternal feel to the track, however it is the gospel inspired backing vocals that really make the track, giving some hope to all the problems they sing about. ‘Humanity’ brings a burst of sunshine to the album that I assure you will make you groove, however the reggae track still has a message about the lack of love in the world.

Other tracks on the album include a Bill Withers’ song ‘I Wish I Could Write Left Handed’, Mike James Kirkland’s ‘Hang on In There’ and Marvin Gaye’s ‘Wholly Holy’. The only original composition on this album is ‘Shine’ which John Legend recorded for an upcoming documentary ‘Waiting For Superman’ about the state of education in America.

Overall this is a thought provoking album, as it was set out to be. Whilst I secretly prefer some of the originals, I do believe that The Roots and John Legend have tried hard to breathe life into these songs, without over complicating things so that we loose sight of the message. This is a great album that hopefully will age well, and hopefully inspire some other musical collaborations in the near future.
Words Richard 'Ricardito' Ashie